By Fred Cicetti

Q. Do older people need more sleep?

A: Seniors need about the same amount of sleep as younger adults—seven to nine hours a night.

Unfortunately, many older adults don’t get the sleep they need, because they often have more trouble falling asleep. A study of adults over 65 found that 13 percent of men and 36 percent of women take more than 30 minutes to fall asleep.

Also, older people often sleep less deeply and wake up more often throughout the night, which may be why they may nap more often during the daytime.

Nighttime sleep schedules may change with age too. Many older adults tend to get sleepier earlier and awaken earlier in the morning.

Many people believe that poor sleep is a normal part of aging, but it is not. Sleep patterns change as we age, but disturbed sleep and waking up tired every day are not part of normal aging.

Here are some pointers to help you get better sleep:

• Go to sleep and wake up at the same time, even on weekends. Sticking to a regular bedtime and wake time schedule helps keep you in sync with your body’s circadian clock, a 24-hour internal rhythm affected by sunlight.
• Try not to nap too much during the day—you might be less sleepy at night.
• Try to exercise at regular times each day. Exercising regularly improves the quality of your nighttime sleep and helps you sleep more soundly.
• Try to get some natural light in the afternoon each day.
• Be careful about what you eat. Don’t drink beverages with caffeine late in the day. Caffeine is a stimulant and can keep you awake.
• Don’t drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes to help you sleep. Even small amounts of alcohol can make it harder to stay asleep. Smoking is dangerous for many reasons, including the hazard of falling asleep with a lit cigarette.
• Create a safe and comfortable place to sleep. Make sure there are locks on all doors and smoke alarms on each floor. The room should be dark, well-ventilated and as quiet as possible.
• Develop a bedtime routine. Do the same things each night to tell your body that it’s time to wind down. Some people watch the evening news, read a book or soak in a warm bath.
• Use your bedroom only for sleeping. After turning off the light, give yourself about 15 minutes to fall asleep. If you are still awake and not drowsy, get out of bed. When you get sleepy, go back to bed.
• Try not to worry about your sleep. Some people find that playing mental games is helpful. For example, tell yourself it’s five minutes before you have to get up and you’re just trying to get a few extra winks.

If you are so tired during the day that you cannot function normally and if this lasts for more than two or three weeks, you should see your family doctor or a sleep disorders specialist.
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If you have a question, please write to fred@healthygeezer.com

And now I’ve undergone a change in my life that I want to share with you. It starts with Melissa Tiers, clinical hypnotist extraordinaire, who puts me in her chair, takes my measure and teaches me self-hypnosis, soothing and healing my brain and feelings as if she’s re-wiring me with a new nervous system.

Hypnosis is a whole new way to approach surgeries and business fights and scary encounters with passersby on Central Park South. Yes, I’m jumpy, but hey that guy who walked by at dusk, whispering, “I’m raping you,” used to be hard to think about without a twitching gut sensation. That is, until I learned finger tapping from Melissa Tiers: tap your fingertips six times on the fleshy side of one hand, then on the crown of the head and then on facial and other acupressure points, repeating a simple upbeat sentence or two. Afterward, I yawn and smile (sometimes it takes three tapping series), and presto chango, I calm down and enjoy this, our short time on the surface of this earth, with ease and even élan.

Melissa, the mother of a small child, wears her natural blonde hair in a ponytail, and looks much younger than her years (it’s about her quicksilver empathy and energy).

I’m so lucky she’s not healing stressed folk in Malibu or Burlington. With our levels of tension, we need her here. She’s spunky, smart as a whip and I’m betting possesses surer emotional intuition than Sigmund Freud (he was a man, after all). Melissa is at the top of her field and also gives graduate training seminars to nurses and other healers.

When I mentioned my insomnia, Melissa gave me a self-hypnosis disc by Australian hypnotherapist Irene Colville called “Relax, Calm and Heal,” with altering state background music. It works. I press two buttons on my player and pull up my bedcovers as I listen to splashing water while the Australian woman I will never meet tells me to relax and that I need not rely on the “oughts” and “shoulds” as she coaches me to sleep. She encourages me to inhale imagined air pockets surrounding my entire body. My insomnia’s based on the fact that I can’t seem to turn off my crackling thoughts for bedtime. And I suddenly find TV re-runs of The Honeymooners urgently seductive. But if I cooperate with the kind Australian stranger, I’m out like my bedside light in 10 minutes. It’s self-hypnosis.

An ultra-conservative research doctor recently told me that Duke University is doing hypnosis experiments on patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). And before a recent operation, two polite (and annoying) medical students monitored me as part of a Mount Sinai hospital experiment that proved hypnosis before operations makes patients heal faster.

Melissa spent a lot of time as a musician. Now she’s committed her life to her amazing, generous practice. She’s earned doctoral degrees in clinical hypnotherapy and alternative healing and teaches classes at institutions, including the Beth Israel School of Nursing. She’s intuitive. She’s efficient. She’s a Manhattan treasure. You can contact Melissa Tiers at mmtiers@aol.com to experience her healing powers, or to take her workshops and certification seminars. n

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Susan Braudy is the author and journalist whose last book, Family Circle: The Boudins and the Aristocracy of the Left, was nominated for a Pulitzer by publisher Alfred Knopf.